


When It Comes To You

by Imagined



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake Dating, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Insecure Stephen Strange, Insecure Tony Stark, Jealousy, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Stephen Strange, Slow Burn, Stephen and Tony being idiots (tm), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, there's very slight references to dubious consent but it's not between tony and stephen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 20:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18532345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imagined/pseuds/Imagined
Summary: It all starts with a bet.Tony Stark is the notorious campus playboy. Stephen Strange is the student who has to be dragged out of his dorm room. They have two things in common: their group of friends, and their dislike of each other. When one of their friends needs dating advice, Stephen and Tony get into an argument about which method of dating is best.When Tony proposes they take each other out to decide who is better at dating, Stephen wants nothing more than to take him down a peg or two. It's all a simple matter of showing Tony that he's not all that.Until he starts realizing Tony is not at all like what he thought he would be, and that's when things get complicated.





	When It Comes To You

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [【翻译】如果是你](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19160767) by [Nihilee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nihilee/pseuds/Nihilee)



> I wanted to write a cute 5k fic. It turned into 17k, and I have no regrets.
> 
> Edit: there is now also a translation in [Chinese](http://www.lofter.com/collection/nihilee-mw/?op=collectionDetail&collectionId=1739174)!

They have never liked each other.

Stephen Strange has known Tony Stark for almost two years now, since they both started studying in Boston. Tony’s at MIT and Stephen at Boston University, but since they share a mutual group of friends, they still often see each other. Stephen doesn’t particularly mind because Tony’s the only one of the group he actively dislikes, and he has learnt to ignore the whirling hurricane of activity whenever he joins them.

Still, the dislike is certainly mutual. Especially on those moments that Stephen can’t ignore Tony and has to deal with the arrogant kid who, Stephen is certain, has only come to MIT because of dear daddy’s money and influence.

‘’It’s not that difficult,’’ Tony is saying, sitting on the left bed with his arm around Bruce, who looks decidedly uncomfortable. They’re all hanging around in Tony and Rhodes’ room in MIT, because at least they’re roommates, and they won’t have to bother their own. ‘’C’mon, just tell us who you like. I’ll give you some dating tips and you’ll have her in your pocket in a heartbeat. I’m the master of dating.’’

Pepper is sitting on the ground before him, chatting quietly with Hope van Dyne during the conversation. Christine is sitting beside Stephen on the other bed, more interested in scrolling through her feed than actually participating.

‘’The master of dating?’’ James Rhodes snorts, sitting on the chair in between the two beds and taking a chug from his beer. ‘’Didn’t that girl throw a martini in your face for even coming up to talk to her, last week?’’

‘’And afterwards, I slept with her,’’ Tony says, grinning as he leans back. ‘’It’s the irresistible Stark charm.’’

‘’Right,’’ Stephen mutters to himself.

Tony hears it, though, and turns towards him with an expression of disbelief. ‘’You don’t believe me?’’

Stephen can’t hide behind his drink now. Instead, he shifts on the couch and leans with his elbows on his knees, bringing his face closer to Tony’s. Christine rolls her eyes and whispers something to herself, but he ignores her. ‘’I have a hard time believing that, yes.’’

There is something charming about Tony Stark, sure – he still has some boyish features to grow out of, but his eyes are dark and seductive, and his face has a nice bone structure. He’s lean but not tall, and there’s something different in the way he holds himself that could be considered attractive, but Stephen doubts that’s the reason everyone throws themselves at the student. It’s the fame and the money, nothing more.

Bruce comes in between them. ‘’Hey, I just wanted some help here,’’ he groans. ‘’Don’t you have – I don’t know, dating advice? Things to do, things to avoid? Pepper, Hope?’’

‘’Depends on whether it’s a girl or a guy,’’ Hope says, turning so that she can join their conversation instead. ‘’And it depends on the person, as well. You may as well tell us.’’

‘’It’s a guy,’’ Bruce says quietly, nervously wiping at his glasses. ‘’I’m not going to tell you – he probably doesn’t even know who I am. I don’t even know if he’s into guys, and if he is, he’s probably not into me. It’s embarrassing, I just want to see if there’s anything I can do to see if there’s even a chance, right? I’ve known this guy for two years now and I want to do something about this.’’

James Rhodes whistles. ‘’Two years, man. That’s a long time to wait to make a move.’’

‘’It’s salvageable,’’ Stephen says kindly, turning to Bruce. ‘’Just see what his interests are, or take him to a movie. Everyone loves movies, it’ll turn out fine.’’

‘’Christine, why did you ever date this guy?’’ Tony complains. ‘’Strange, no one wants to see movies. The movies are excuses to make out, you don’t go to movies to _see one_. No, you have to take out this guy to dinner, talk him up a bit. Go for an ice cream, watch the stars. Say something sappy and start making out with him, it’ll work like a charm, I promise.’’

‘’You can’t just make out with a guy at the first date,’’ Stephen protests. ‘’No, you have to take him out to some place you can both enjoy. Just make sure you have a fun date with him, show him another side of you – one that’s closer to his own interests, maybe. The first date is about letting him know that you can be friends and date, too.’’

‘’You don’t want to _befriend_ him,’’ Tony crosses his arms. ‘’Bruce needs to get into this guy’s pants, and you don’t do that by having fun.’’

‘’It does if you want anything more than just getting laid,’’ Stephen shoots back.

‘’He does have a point, Tony,’’ Pepper says.

‘’Yeah, but you don’t want him to think it’s just for being friends, either,’’ Christine says, and she shrugs helplessly when Stephen sends her a betrayed look. ‘’Just saying – he’s already waited two years, maybe it’s time to get something going.’’

‘’Can’t I just talk to him first?’’ Bruce asks.

‘’No,’’ Tony and Stephen say at the same time, and then glower at each other.

Hope rolls her eyes. ‘’Bruce, if you actually like this guy, just go up to him and ask him out. It’s as easy as that.’’

‘’That’s the worst idea,’’ Stephen interferes. He loves Bruce, but he knows well enough how smooth his friend is. That is to say, not at all. He’ll probably end up stammering about electrons and walking away before this guy even knows what Bruce wants to say. In the worst case scenario, he’ll be beaten up. Even at world-leading universities, there’s jocks and nerds.

Tony shifts, looking intently at Bruce. ‘’You can go with Strange’s idea, of course, but if you want anything to actually _happen_ with this dude of yours, it’s a bad idea. Take it from me.’’

The entire room is silent, watching the three of them by now. Stephen sits forward in annoyance. ‘’Hey, jackass, it’s not _irresistible charm_ that makes people sleep with you, it’s something called money. And it’s one-night stands because no one bothers returning.’’

‘’Ouch,’’ Christine mutters beside him. Maybe Stephen has crossed a line; he’s never seen Tony’s face darken as much as it does in that moment. For a second, something cold and hurt crosses his eyes, but it’s gone just as fast, and maybe Stephen is just projecting feelings onto Tony. He seems unbothered as he stands up, crossing his arms as he opposes Stephen.

‘’Fine,’’ he declares, turning around the room as he holds up his hands. ‘’Stephen Strange, ladies and gentlemen, self-proclaimed professional dater. Presumably doesn’t go on dates because no one’s good enough for him, but certainly knows everything about how it works.’’

‘’You think you’re better than me?’’ Stephen asks, standing up as well. Christine pulls a little at his sleeve, but he doesn’t back down.

‘’I know so,’’ Tony returns vehemently.

‘’Guys, just calm down,’’ Rhodes says, watching them warily over his beer. ‘’You both have a point, it’s just different ways of going about it. No need to get into a fight about it.’’

‘’You’re both wrong, anyway,’’ Hope mutters and leans against the bed again, but Stephen decides to ignore her.

There is still decidedly some aggravation radiating from the other side of the room. ‘’No, I’ve got an idea,’’ Tony says, raising his eyebrows at Stephen. ‘’We’re going to make a bet out of this. If my method of dating is better, Bruce is going to take my advice and take out his guy with a date I piece together for him. If yours is better, then he’ll take yours. Simply as that.’’

‘’Fine,’’ Stephen says. ‘’How are we going to decide that?’’

‘’You are complete idiots,’’ Pepper says, looking at them disapprovingly.

Hope pokes her in the ribs. ‘’No, this may be fun,’’ she grins. ‘’Okay, you can take out the same – well, it has to be a guy for it to be even close. Neither of you has a problem with that, right? No, of course you don’t. Is there a guy that neither of you have dated yet and that you can take out?’’

‘’Oh!’’ Rhodey perks up and leans down from where he’s sitting, whispering a name in Pepper’s ear. Immediately, she shakes her head, sending Tony a meaningful glance.

Tony just grins and puts up his thumbs. ‘’Thought so,’’ he says. Stephen just sighs and shakes his head.

‘’Okay, it can’t be anyone from MIT,’’ Hope rules out. ‘’Tony has too much of a reputation here. Someone from Boston?’’

‘’You’re mistaken if you think Tony doesn’t have a reputation everywhere,’’ Christine says, despite how hesitant she seems about even joining the conversation. Stephen can guess that she doesn’t agree with this – he’s actually surprised that Hope is going along with it. Perhaps Hope is just the type that likes to see them compete, though. ‘’C’mon, every student knows him. Besides, how are they going to date the same guy at nearly the same time? Everyone’s tastes differ, it simply won’t be a fair experiment.’’

‘’Can’t I really just talk to him first?’’ Bruce says nervously.

‘’Don’t worry, Bruce, when I win this thing, I’ll set you up on the perfect date,’’ Tony assures him. ‘’Alright – I’ve got an idea. How about we take out each other?’’

‘’What?’’ Stephen says in disbelief.

Tony shrugs. ‘’You don’t like me, I don’t like you. We won’t be dating a random guy who’s not aware of anything and who may like either one of us better despite the dates. We’ll have a form and fill in the advantages and disadvantages of each date, and Hope will say if they’re fair or not. After that, we objectively decide who is better at dating. Me, of course, but we’ll leave it to Hope to find that out on her own.’’

‘’That’s ridiculous, I don’t want to date you,’’ Stephen says, looking around the room. He only finds thoughtful faces – well, despite Bruce who still looks like he wants to throw up a bit – and no one seems to share in his scepticism.

‘’It’s the fairest way there is,’’ Pepper says. She seems hesitant as well, but Stephen knows that there is nothing that will faze her anymore. She has known Tony for too long to even attempt at stopping anything but his dumbest ideas, and it’s saying a lot that this isn’t one of them.

Tony grins at him, and holds out his hand. ‘’It’s decided, then,’’ he says airily. ‘’Next Friday, Strange, I’m going to show you what it’s like to have a _real_ date. You may want to bring your notebook, so you can write down what a perfect date looks like. Unless you don’t dare to, of course?’’

The slightly mocking lift in Tony’s last words make something in Stephen settle. He scowls and takes the offered hand. ‘’You’ve got yourself a date.’’

‘’I never should’ve said anything,’’ Bruce mutters.

~*~

Stephen barely even thinks about the upcoming date, the next week. He goes to his own dorm room late at night, one he shares with his friend Wong, falls asleep on his bed, and continues on as normal.

It’s only on Thursday afternoon that he’s even reminded of it.

‘’Is he coming to pick you up?’’ Christine asks, finding him after their lecture. Stephen has his bag slung over his shoulders and needs to go to the other side of the building for his tutorial, so he’s not keen on having a conversation right now.

‘’Who?’’ he says, trying not to bump into too many people.

‘’Tony, of course!’’ she says, and that is what reminds him.

He sighs, taking a corner to the left. ‘’Christine, I don’t think that’s actually going to happen. Tony and I, together on a date? That’s a recipe for disaster. It’s all just big talk, but he’s not actually taking me out on a date tomorrow night just to prove something.’’

Christine raises her eyebrows at him. ‘’I’d keep your calendar free,’’ she tells him. ‘’Tony won’t give up so easily, you know.’’

‘’It’s a busy semester,’’ Stephen complains. ‘’I want to study, not spend my time with that pretentious asshole trying to show me up.’’

‘’You still have weeks to study. Don’t you want to pull one over him?’’ There is a glint in Christine’s eyes that tells Stephen that she knows she’s got him at that. Stephen isn’t exactly interested in spending the evening with Tony Stark, but if that’s what it is necessary to take him down a peg or two, he’ll do so.

‘’Fine,’’ he sighs. ‘’I’ll survive two dates. I’ll see you later.’’

Christine waves him goodbye and Stephen enters his tutorial. It’s hard to focus, though; he’s thinking more of how to plan the perfect date for Tony Stark.

He’ll show the bastard how to win a date.

~*~

It’s over six when Tony arrives. Stephen didn’t know when to expect him, but as Christine told him, he’d kept his evening free. A few haphazard knocks on the door start him into looking up from his desk. He was studying while waiting up on Tony; it’s always time well spent, after all.

He opens the door to look into the grinning face of Tony Stark. Stephen raises his eyebrows. ‘’How do you know what room I’m in?’’

Tony shrugs and pushes past Stephen to enter his room. ‘’Pepper knows everything about everyone. Why aren’t you dressed yet?’’

Stephen scowls at him. Tony is sharply dressed, a spotless white blouse contrasting his dark jeans. Stephen is sure that his clothes have cost more than Stephen pays for his tuition, as fancy and well-fitting as they are. ‘’I didn’t know when you’d be coming, and I also don’t know where we’ll be going,’’ he says, crossing his arms.

Tony opens his wardrobe, browsing through the options. Stephen sighs but gives up, sitting down again. It’s no use trying to tell Tony to keep away from his stuff; he’s contradictory that way, and Stephen is already annoyed. It’s going to be a long night. ‘’This will do,’’ Tony says, throwing a black blouse at him together with a pair of faded black jeans.

‘’I’m retracting points for this,’’ Stephen tells him, but takes the clothes. ‘’Not announcing a time or place, telling me how to dress. This is a bad start.’’

‘’Yeah, well, I tried to call you but you’ve blocked my number, apparently. Smooth, Strange. I can handle the lost points; I’ll still win easily. Just get dressed, and I’ll wait outside for you.’’

Blocked his phone number – Stephen doesn’t remember doing that, but it sounds like something he’d do. He shrugs as Tony leaves again and puts on the clothes. It feels like they’re going somewhere fancy, and even if this isn’t a real date, he doesn’t feel like standing out too much. Despite the fact that his clothes aren’t anywhere near the quality of Tony’s, he should still try.

Tony is indeed waiting for him outside his dorm room. He grins when Stephen comes out, looking him over. ‘’You clean up not too badly,’’ he says, and Stephen rolls his eyes. ‘’C’mon, the car’s outside. The restaurant’s not far away, but we’re running a bit late for reservations anyway.’’

‘’Just so that I’m clear on this; where are we eating?’’

‘’Well, I just hope you like seafood,’’ Tony says, and hooks his own elbow in Stephen’s. He’d pull away, but technically it is a date. He just has to let Tony get away with things like these for now; as long as it doesn’t go any further, Stephen can deal with a little annoyance and discomfort.

Tony’s car is parked outside – like everything else Tony owns, it’s far too expensive for Stephen. Not that he doesn’t like luxurious things, but it’s getting a bit out of hand. He doesn’t say anything as Tony holds open the door for him and gets into the driver seat. 

Stephen can see a few people passing by that he knows. They look at them, whispering furiously among each other. He blushes; it’s indeed true that Tony has a reputation all over Boston, and to be seen with him – Stephen doesn’t exactly want to be known as yet another catch. He’s heard enough people bragging about making out with Tony, as if it is such a life-changing accomplishment. 

Tony doesn’t seem to notice; he starts the car and drives away. He’s heard stories about Tony’s speeding, but surprisingly enough, he’s driving rather calmly now. They arrive within ten minutes and Stephen groans when he sees where Tony pulls up.

‘’I can’t afford to eat at Ostra!’’ he says. ‘’Tony, this is overdoing it.’’

‘’Nonsense,’’ Tony says brightly, getting out of the car and locking it. It beeps once and locks, while Stephen stares at the fancy restaurant. ‘’It’s a date. I’m paying for it. I wouldn’t take you here if it wasn’t all on me. Relax, Strange.’’

‘’Your dad’s paying, you mean,’’ Stephen mutters, but Tony jabs him in the ribs at that, sending him a dark look.

‘’You may like to think I’m just old money, but I’ll have you know that my dad has not given me a penny since I came of age,’’ he snaps. ‘’Do you even know how many universities wanted me, simply for my GPA? I’m here because I deserve it, Strange, just like you. I’ve got money because I invent stuff that people want, and I’ve earned all of it by myself. So hate me however much you want, but stop saying that I’m only here because of dad. I’m not, and you assume too much!’’

Stephen blinks. Tony’s still looking at him, his arms crossed. It creases his blouse a little, and Stephen is thrown aback. ‘’I’m sorry,’’ he offers. ‘’I didn’t know it bothered you.’’

Tony shrugs, his ire having left him. ‘’It’s just not true,’’ he says more quietly, and gets a hold of himself, sighing as he opens the door. ‘’Here, let’s just go inside. I made a reservation, and we’re only a little late, so I think they’re still holding our table. Still plenty of time to show you how to plan a good date.’’

And there’s the annoyance again. Stephen rolls his eyes but follows Tony. He’s never been inside Ostra; it’s too fancy for a poor medical student. He’s only heard good things about it, though. The waiter has indeed waited for them, and they’re ushered to their table within seconds.

Stephen doesn’t often eat seafood, and he’s a bit lost as he looks over the menu. At least it’s not so expensive and elegant that there’s not even prices on it, though some of them make him wince nonetheless. Tony seems to already know what he’s going to order; Stephen watches him with some uncertainty. 

He’d certainly never known that all the money Tony has is his own – he’d assumed, and that was his mistake. Maybe lots of people assume the same, though, and he can guess why that gets exasperating. 

A waiter comes to see them; Tony orders wine before Stephen even gets the chance to speak up, and rattles off his order. Stephen looks between Tony and the waiter, both looking at him expectantly. ‘’Uh –‘’ he starts, looking at his menu again, feeling the tips of his ears redden. This isn’t fun at all.

‘’He’ll have the sea bass and the truffle-parmesan fries on the side, please,’’ Tony interrupts him, taking Stephen’s menu and handing it to the waiter. ‘’Here you go.’’

He watches the waiter leave, and Stephen turns back to Tony. ‘’Thanks,’’ he murmurs. ‘’Seafood isn’t really my thing.’’

‘’Don’t worry about it,’’ Tony tells him. ‘’If you don’t like yours, we’ll switch. And if you don’t like mine, we’ll order something else entirely. If that doesn’t work out, there’s a McDonalds only a few minutes away, you know.’’

Stephen huffs out a laugh at that. ‘’Is that your plan B?’’ he asks in amusement. ‘’If the fancy restaurant doesn’t work out, you take them to McDonalds and get them a Big Mac instead?’’

‘’I never need a plan B,’’ Tony says, leaning forward with a seductive grin. ‘’Why, you do? Because I can see who’s going to win this thing.’’

Stephen remembers the contest now, and leans back in his chair. He needs to remember that this is all just a game; this isn’t a date. Not a real one, at least. It’s almost a shame. He knows that Tony is one of the most annoying guys he knows, but he’d almost thought he could enjoy himself for a while, teasing Tony.

He still can get free food out of this, though. 

‘’Don’t be too hasty,’’ he reminds Tony. ‘’Taking me to a fancy restaurant says nothing about your dating skills.’’

‘’No, but it’s just good sense,’’ Tony says. ‘’What if I’d taken you to one of those everyday restaurants, huh? Does that really send the message you want to send? You’ve got to romance them a bit, show them you’re serious and that you’re worthy of a nice, expensive date. It’s not about the food; it’s about setting their expectations to ‘romantic’.’’

It does make some sense, maybe. ‘’Alright,’’ he offers. ‘’And what then? Please tell me you’re not going to sweet-talk me.’’

Tony shrugs. ‘’If you don’t like compliments, I can’t – oh, fuck.’’

He is staring at something behind Stephen, and he turns as well to see what has caught Tony’s gaze. ‘’What?’’ he asks, turning back. He didn’t see anything extraordinary, but from Tony’s wide eyes, it can’t be anything good.

Stephen watches in surprise as Tony is nailed to his seat, his eyes following something until a young man stands before their table, laughing at the sight of them. ‘’Tony!’’ he says in delight, and Stephen gets a bad feeling about this. He’s wearing an expensive suit, and his dark hair is slicked back with gel. His self-satisfied smirk doesn’t help matters.

There’s a girl with him, with long blonde pipe curls and a dress that covers up far too little of her body. Stephen can’t see her face from under her make-up, and she is holding onto the guy’s sleeve as if she will fall over if left standing by herself. 

‘’Ty,’’ Tony says tersely, and Stephen has never seen him this uncomfortable. He has no idea who this Ty is, but it’s obviously not anyone Tony wants to run into.

‘’Such a surprise seeing you here!’’ the guy says, and then turns to Stephen. ‘’Hello, there. I’m Tiberius Stone, a good friend of Tony’s.’’

‘’He’s really not,’’ Tony says. ‘’Ty, can’t you just go bother someone else? I’m really not in the mood for this right now.’’

‘’Funny,’’ Tiberius Stone says, and takes a chair from another table. It scrapes on the floor and Stephen winces, looking on in puzzlement as the guy sits down next to them. ‘’When are you ever in the mood, Tony? Oh, how rude of me. This is Tiffany. Who’s yours?’’

He looks at Stephen expectantly, and it doesn’t seem like Tony’s going to answer. ‘’I’m Stephen,’’ he says, but it comes out more like a question.

‘’Don’t humour him,’’ Tony hisses towards Stephen.

Tiberius laughs. ‘’Oh, Tony,’’ he says, and leans closer towards Tony. Stephen narrows his eyes; Tony looks far too uncomfortable. Besides, he has never known for Tony to hold back on his insults, when disliking someone. There must be a story here that Stephen doesn’t know. ‘’I do miss our time, you know. I remember you a few years ago, such a heterosexual confused little pup. And look at you now!’’

‘’Fuck you, Ty,’’ Tony says vehemently. 

‘’Yes, that part was fun, too,’’ Tiberius says.

‘’I think it’s time for you to go,’’ Stephen interferes sharply. It’s obvious to him, now; there’s definitely some sort of history between Tiberius and Tony, and it didn’t end all too happily. Tony’s uncomfortable and twitching, but clearly unable to get rid of Tiberius himself. Stephen may not be too fond of Tony Stark, but he doesn’t have to sit by and watch this.

Tiberius raises his eyebrows at Stephen. ‘’Looks like your new boyfriend has quite a mouth on him, Tony,’’ he says slyly. ‘’Stephen – good luck handling this one. It’s certainly not easy.’’

‘’Just leave,’’ Tony tells him. Tiberius rises and scrapes back his chair, taking the hand of his blonde bimbo. With one smooth movement, he leans over to whisper something in Tony’s ear. It’s too soft for Stephen to hear, but he doesn’t like the way that Tony’s face hardens. He almost wants to stand up and push Tiberius Stone away, but that’s the moment he comes up again with a gratified smirk and walks away, the girl coming after him.

‘’What the heck?’’ Stephen demands as Tony puts his head on his arms, almost lying on the table in defeat. ‘’Tony, what was that? Who is that guy?’’

‘’Can we please leave it?’’ Tony murmurs, his face still resting on his arms. 

‘’No, we can’t,’’ Stephen says, and tugs at Tony’s arms so that his head will fall on the table. Tony curses as he hits his head with a loud thud and looks up to glare at Stephen. 

‘’No offense, Strange, but it’s really not any of your business,’’ he says. ‘’Ty is – well, he’s Ty. Look, please just forget about him. You wouldn’t understand, okay, it’s complicated and messed up and not the way things were supposed to be. I don’t even know why he’s here, okay, but I’m certainly going to make sure I don’t run into him again, so forget it. I’m sure you have an ex you don’t want to see ever again.’’

Stephen blinks. ‘’My only ex is Christine.’’

Tony sighs. ‘’Right, I forgot. Can you leave it, Stephen? Please?’’

It’s the first time ever that Tony has called him by his first name, as far as Stephen knows. He doesn’t want to let it go – he remembers how uncomfortable Tony looked, and he’s never seen him like that. He doesn’t want to push, though. He’s not anything but a guy that Tony’s taken out on a bet, and they don’t mean anything to each other. If there’s anyone who is not allowed to push, it’s him.

‘’Alright,’’ he says, but still feels a bit awkward. ‘’But, uh – do you want to get out of here?’’

He doesn’t feel great about staying here when he knows that Tiberius Stone is sitting here as well. Tony just offers him a grateful smile and rises. ‘’Plan B it is,’’ he declares.

~*~

‘’It’s such a shame of that sea bass, though,’’ Tony complains, despite the fact that he’s stuffing fries in his mouth like there’s no tomorrow. They stand out a bit now, sitting on a hot-rot red bench in the McDonalds, in clothes that are just a bit too fancy. ‘’I’m sure you would’ve liked it.’’

‘’We’ll never know,’’ Stephen says dryly, and takes a bite from his hamburger. Tony snatches away his fries, and he’s just too late to stop him as he tries not to let the tomatoes and lettuce fall out of his burger. ‘’Hey, no, don’t steal my fries.’’

‘’Technically, they’re mine,’’ Tony points out, and languidly chews on a few of Stephen’s fries, as if to dare him. ‘’I paid for them.’’

‘’If you wanted more fries, you should’ve gotten yourself more,’’ Stephen says, and leans over to take back his fries while holding on to his hamburger. Tony laughs and stuffs as many fries as he can in his mouth, leaving Stephen with only half of what he originally ordered. He glowers at Tony, but retaliates easily, taking his cola and downing it in one long jug.

‘’That’s not fair!’’ Tony whines, and reaches for Stephen’s drink, but that’s already empty. He crosses his arms. ‘’I was thirsty!’’

‘’And I wanted fries, but I guess that’s not happening either,’’ Stephen tells him triumphantly, putting down the empty cup and finishing his burger. 

‘’Fine,’’ Tony says. ‘’I’ll get you more fries for on the road, and I’ll get myself another soda. Don’t forget to go to the toilet, though – there isn’t one where we’re going next. It’s a thirty minute drive, and relieving yourself in public is frowned upon.’’

‘’It’s not frowned upon, it’s illegal,’’ Stephen informs him.

Tony shrugs. ‘’Only if you get caught.’’

~*~

The ride is remarkably peaceful. Stephen is having fun, with the radio on in Tony’s car and the running mouth of the boy beside him. At moments, they sing along to whatever song is playing at that moment, which leads to an argument about who is the best artist at the moment, which ends in them agreeing that all of them suck.

So yeah. Stephen never knew that Tony Stark could be so fun to be around. When he’s not going out of his way to provoke Tony, and they’re not actively arguing, they actually agree on a lot of things.

It’s only a twenty minute drive before Tony stops at the entrance of a park. It’s cooling down quite rapidly, now the sun has set. The evening sky is clear, though, the perfect weather for a stroll. Stephen wonders if Tony looked up the weather forecast, but he doesn’t think Tony is the kind of guy who does that. He just rolls with whatever happens.

‘’This is your special place?’’ Stephen teases as Tony leads him into the park. Admittedly, it’s rather pretty, but it’s hardly anything uncommon. At least they’re alone; the park is empty except for them and by the sound of it, some frogs. 

There’s a small lake nearby, and Tony takes his hand and leads them towards it. Stephen rolls his eyes but ignores the feel of Tony’s warm hand in his own, gently pulling at him. He’s still on a date, and he doesn’t mind so much now that he’s seeing beyond Tony’s aggravating side.

‘’Don’t underestimate this place,’’ Tony warns him. The water glitters with the light of the stars, when they come closer, and there’s a tree standing just beside the lake. Its branches hang over the water, quietly rustling with the wind. Tony sits beside it, patting the ground beside him to invite Stephen to sit down there as well. He hesitates for only a moment; he doesn’t want to ruin his pants with the muddy ground, but decides it doesn’t matter. He can wash it back at the dorm.

He’s silent for a moment, watching the still waters. The frogs are still croaking, and it’s remarkably peaceful. He feels a shiver go through him, and Tony’s eyes come to rest on him, burning. ‘’You forgot a jacket, didn’t you?’’

Stephen grimaces. ‘’You hurried me out the door without giving me the time to take anything,’’ he says, thinking back to earlier on the evening. It seems odd that it’s only a few hours ago that he thought Tony was the worst guy on any campus, ever. It’s not so bad, now.

‘’Yeah, I also forgot one,’’ Tony says, shrugging. ‘’It would’ve been romantic, giving you my jacket. You definitely would have had to give me bonus points for that. Not to worry: I have another plan.’’

‘’Should I be getting concerned?’’ Stephen asks sceptically, as Tony tugs at his sleeve, indicating for him to move closer. 

‘’Depends,’’ Tony hums. ‘’Maybe not. Just come here – we’re still on a date and this is proper date behaviour, alright? You’re going to have to come here. We’re going to cuddle until you’re warm again.’’

‘’So, forgetting your jackets and then cuddling up? Is that how you date people?’’

‘’It’s called _romance_ , Strange, and you wouldn’t know it if it crossed the street and smacked you in the face!’’

‘’Well, that’s not a very romantic thing to say.’’

‘’Oh, shut up.’’

Stephen grins. He’s half sitting against the tree trunk and half leaning against Tony. It’s not actually cuddling – it’s more lying against each other. It’s comfortable and warm, though, so he stays there. Tony’s side is warm against his arm, and Tony’s head of dark hair moves against his shoulder. 

He’s still acutely aware that this date is nothing more than a bet. A bit disappointing, maybe – they’re only doing this because they each want to be right. Stephen thinks of how to top this date – it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t mind Tony so much, anymore, he still wants to prove that he actually knows how to take someone out properly. Besides, maybe they’ll end up being friends. It certainly wouldn’t harm if they knew how to hang around each other without arguing all the time.

‘’So, how many people have you taken here?’’ he asks eventually, interrupting the frogs. ‘’Does this spot really work that well? I mean, it’s romantic, I imagine, but it’s not anything magical. Not everyone will fall for this.’’

Tony hums. ‘’How many people do you think?’’

Stephen thinks on it for a while. ‘’Fifteen, at least, to establish it as a spot that works better for potential romance. There must have been some failures, but it’s still high up in your list.’’

Tony is silent for a moment. ‘’I’ve never taken anyone here before.’’

The frogs continue, but Stephen turns to look at Tony. It means losing the warmth that leaning against each other provided, but he’s too surprised to do anything else. Tony doesn’t move, just raises his eyebrows at him as Stephen continues to stare.

‘’Why not?’’ he asks. ‘’If this place works so well, according to you, why didn’t you?’’

Tony shrugs, and his eyes are unreadable. ‘’I’m the campus playboy. Most people don’t expect me to take them on dates, as long as they get into my pants.’’

Stephen is quiet for a while and slowly returns to his spot, leaning against Tony again. It’s warm and comfortable, Tony’s body like a furnace against his own. ‘’You’re not good at dating, are you? You’re just good at making people feel wanted.’’

‘’I’m great at dating. People generally aren’t _interested_ in dating me, though. They’ve never been, so there’s that. I always thought I’d come to university and find a girlfriend, you know? Or a boyfriend, I’m not picky. And I never did, and I got this reputation, and now it’s just easier to roll with this.’’

‘’So why didn’t you ever take out anyone instead of just sleeping with them?’’ Stephen asks.

Tony laughs humourlessly. ‘’You don’t get it, do you, Strange?’’

‘’So explain it to me,’’ Stephen shoots back. ‘’Because to me it seems like everyone wants you, and you just reject them. If you sleep around with half the campus, anyway, you may as well find one you like and take them on a date.’’

‘’I told you this evening,’’ Tony says. ‘’You assume too much. You know, a lot of people do, and that’s fine. But you’ve known me for almost two years now, Strange. I know you don’t like me, and you don’t have to. But when it comes to me, you can’t believe everything people tell you.’’

Stephen is silent for a long while at that, and just watches the water. He doesn’t know what to ask – because he definitely has questions, but he doesn’t think Tony will answer. It’s like he has figured out more about Tony in two hours than he has in two years, and that thought is a bit disconcerting.

He wonders how annoying Tony really is, and much of it is Stephen’s presuppositions.

But Tony still sits there with him, and the following silence isn’t tense at all. Stephen manages to relax against the tree trunk, and he doesn’t worry about getting his jeans dirty anymore. He just leans against Tony, his left side warming up though his right side is still cold, and tries not to think about everything that he has ever been told about Tony that may not be true at all.

~*~

By the time they drive up to the campus, it’s nearing midnight already.

‘’Well, that was a train-wreck of a date,’’ Tony says, though he doesn’t seem to care altogether that much. ‘’Still, I definitely got some bonus points, right? Plan B worked out fine, and you liked the romantic spot. Would definitely be good enough for a first date with Bruce and his mystery man.’’

Stephen grins. ‘’You get points for the idea,’’ he says. ‘’The execution? Not so much.’’

‘’Hey, that’s not fair. That thing with Ty isn’t my fault, and you not bringing your jacket wasn’t that bad, either. It worked out fine!’’

They’d been leaning against each other for maybe a bit too long, Stephen reflects. He doesn’t know why; it’d been comfortable, and it was a good spot for thinking. They’d got talking again after a short while, but not about anything serious; their friends, mainly, and their studies. Stephen steered clear of anything to do with relationships.

The date’s almost at its end, now, and Stephen feels surprisingly hesitant for it to end. ‘’It did,’’ he acknowledges. ‘’Alright, when is it my time to show off? I definitely can beat this.’’

Tony rolls his eyes at him as he halts his car before the dorm. ‘’No, sit there. The end is an important part of the date, remember.’’ Stephen watches with some amusement as Tony opens his car door for him, and helps him out. There’s a few stairs leading up to his dorm, and Tony determinedly walks him up to the front door.

‘’Despite the implantation of plan B, I had more fun than I expected,’’ Tony says. ‘’I’d say let’s do this again, but we’ve already agreed on a second date. So – uh.’’

Stephen doesn’t understand, for a moment. So when Tony leans slightly up towards him and presses his lips against Stephen’s, he stills. It’s only a quick press of their lips together – no tongue, just a soft kiss that doesn’t take more than second. It’s the most innocent kiss he’s ever had, and Stephen stares at Tony when he pulls away.

Tony smirks at him. ‘’I’m getting bonus points for that,’’ he says. ‘’See you Friday, Strange!’’

Stephen just shakes his head and goes back inside.

~*~

‘’Where did you come from?’’ Wong asks when he comes back into their room, and tilts his head at the dark blouse and dirty jeans. ‘’And why so fancy?’’

‘’Date,’’ Stephen summarizes, and falls on his bed.

‘’A date? You?’’ Wong says sceptically. ‘’With who?’’

Stephen closes his eyes, and thinks of Tony’s head on his shoulder, leaning against the tree with him, watching the stars twinkle in the still water.

‘’Just some guy,’’ he says, and doesn’t say anything else about it.

~*~

Now he’s paying attention to it, it’s as if he’s hearing it everywhere. A girl in the locker next to his claims that she’s slept with Tony Stark, when her friend asks her where she was the evening before, and proudly and hushes continues to talk about it. Stephen normally doesn’t eavesdrop, but he stands there and frowns.

In his lecture, he hears a guy talking about the best lays. Most of the names he picks up are girls – popular ones, too – but Tony Stark is in that list, as well.

When he’s eating lunch with Christine and Bruce, he hears the table next to theirs talking about the rumour that Tony slept with one of their friends, and saying that Tony had obviously made that up because their friend wouldn’t sleep with such a playboy.

Something in him starts to understand what Tony meant. Everyone in MIT and Boston University knows who Tony is; probably even beyond the two campuses. And there’s so many rumours going around that it’s impossible to figure out who’s lying and who’s not.

_So, how many people have you taken here?_

_I’ve never taken anyone here before._

Stephen wonders how many people would say that Tony’s brought them there, if he asked. He thinks it’s more people than he cares to think about.

_When it comes to me, you can’t believe everything people tell you._

~*~

He runs into Hope on Thursday. He doesn’t see her often, on account of them both studying so very different subjects, but he sees her around the campus sometimes. She mostly stays with Scott, her boyfriend, so they don’t spend as much time together as they may have otherwise.

‘’I heard from Tony that he won the first round,’’ she says, grinning at him. ‘’Tell me, Stephen, how annoyed were you? When he proposed this, I thought you were going to throw him out of the window.’’

Stephen shrugs. ‘’It went fine,’’ he says. ‘’Of course, I’m still going to win.’’

Because this is still just a contest. He almost forgot, when he started planning his own date. He doesn’t think too hard about that – it’s natural, that he forgot. After all, you usually don’t go on dates because of bets, like they do. Maybe he should never have agreed to this.

He can’t quite make himself cancel either, though, despite the fact that he’s unblocked Tony’s phone number. They haven’t talked at all since their last date, though Stephen should probably text him the time that he’ll pick him up. 

‘’I can’t believe you’re actually going through with this,’’ Hope says. ‘’This isn’t even about helping Bruce, anymore.’’

‘’Well, Tony can’t always be right,’’ Stephen says. ‘’He’s just going to have to accept that my dates are far better. He’ll see, tomorrow.’’

She shakes his head. ‘’Well, good luck with that,’’ she says.

Stephen already has the whole thing planned, though. He doesn’t need luck.

~*~

Tony isn’t in his dorm room, when Stephen checks. James Rhodes is, though, shaking his head as he finds out why Stephen is there. He doesn’t say anything about their date plan, though, even if he seems to disapprove. He points Stephen towards the labs.

With a few more directions, he finds out where he needs to be. It looks like there’s only computer geeks running around, and he doesn’t know where to start searching, because all of these look like mechanic labs to him.

When he hears a loud bang and the following curse, though, there remains no doubt about where Stephen’s date for the day is.

‘’Tony?’’ he asks, looking at him. Tony’s wearing a lab coat and safety goggles, lying underneath some sort of robot-like machine. 

‘’Stephen!’’ Tony says, and sits up in surprise. The first name surprises Stephen a bit, but he doesn’t show it. ‘’We weren’t supposed to meet until twelve – shit. It’s twelve already, isn’t it? Hank? Hank! I told you to warn me when it was a quarter to!’’

A brown-haired young man passes by, glaring at Tony. ‘’As if,’’ he mutters, and passes by to work on a robot of his own.

Stephen helps up Tony. ‘’What’re you doing here?’’ he asks. There’s some oil in Tony’s hair, but he doesn’t seem to notice as he takes off his lab coat and straightens himself out.

‘’Working on an AI. I’ve got most of it right, I think, but there’s some bugs in it. Wait, let me just lock this up, and I’ll be ready to go.’’

It’s no trouble sitting back and watching Tony clean up his project; there’s something intriguing about the quick meticulous way he gathers his data and puts it away. It only takes a few minutes, but this is whole another side to Tony that Stephen never considered. It’s not all just arrogance and blustering; there is rapid intellect and logic underneath the sarcastic grin. An AI is nothing to scoff at, and he remembers what Tony told him about his inventions on the first date. Tony’s finished up quickly, and they walk towards where Stephen parked.

Stephen’s car isn’t as nice as Tony’s, but to his credit, Tony doesn’t say anything about it as he gets into the passenger seat. ‘’Why did you want to meet so early, anyway?’’ he asks. ‘’I’m way ahead of schedule, so it’s not really a problem, but I kind of assumed we’d meet up this evening until you texted me.’’

He starts the car, and it makes a loud whirring noise before starting. ‘’We still have to drive for half an hour,’’ he says. ‘’And they’re not opened in the evenings.’’

‘’You’re a real mystery man, aren’t you,’’ Tony says, but he doesn’t sound annoyed.

‘’You’re just going to have to be patient,’’ Stephen tells him.

‘’I don’t know if you noticed, but that’s not my best quality.’’

‘’You’re not getting a choice. So hey, you’re building an AI? How did that happen?’’

This is already different from the first date. Stephen lets Tony ramble, and they’re both obviously more comfortable with each other after last week. Stephen isn’t annoyed by Tony’s talking at all; it’s obvious that he’s enthusiastic about his own project, and his intelligence shines through in every remark he makes. Stephen isn’t much into robotics – he’s better with the natural body parts instead of artificial ones – but he listens with interest.

They’re almost there when Tony actually halts himself, and starts asking about Stephen’s study instead. It’s interesting, of course, to become a doctor, but not half as innovating as when you actually create new stuff, so Stephen takes far less time.

‘’Wait,’’ Tony says, as they arrive at their destination. ‘’Are you serious? You’re taking me to Canobie Lake Park? Do you _want_ to lose?’’

Stephen just laughs and buys them two tickets.

~*~

It’s not that Canobie Lake Park is not a good idea. It’s just that Stephen might have wanted to check the weather forecast before deciding to go here.

It’s nearly summer, and the weather has been great the rest of the week. It makes sense that on the Friday of their date dark clouds appear. Within an hour of their arrival, it starts raining – a lot.

Stephen buys an incredibly overpriced umbrella in the gift shop, and they stand there around for a while as they search for the weather forecast to see if it’s going to clear up. There are some more people around them, doing the same, but in the overall, it’s not busy.

‘’Guess we know now why the park’s so empty,’’ Tony says still rather cheerfully and sucks at his straw. The strawberry milkshake makes a rumbling sound. ‘’Everyone else checks the weather forecast. Strange, it’s not going to stop raining at all today. Your date is doomed.’’

‘’It’s not,’’ Stephen says, peering out of the windows. ‘’We brought jackets today, so that’s a bonus point for me.’’

‘’That’s not how the bonus points work!’’

Stephen glares at Tony. ‘’And I have an umbrella. We can still go in the rides. They haven’t closed at all!’’

Tony shrugs and finishes his milkshake. ‘’We can’t go into the rides with an umbrella.’’

‘’You’re going to let me take you on this date whether it’s in rain or sunshine,’’ Stephen grumbles. He takes Tony’s hand, and doesn’t marvel at the fact of how easily Tony allows himself to be led outside again as he holds out the umbrella above their heads. ‘’Look, there’s an extreme science show. That’s your kind of thing, isn’t it?’’

Tony’s eyes light up, despite the rain. ‘’Extreme science!’’ he says, and almost runs towards the show. Apparently, the rain isn’t an issue anymore.

Stephen sighs, and follows. He’s certain Tony will take off points from the date if he ends up drenched.

~*~

The weather forecast is right. The rain keeps coming down relentlessly, and Stephen might’ve thought the date would be ruined beforehand. Actually, it’s not that bad. There are barely any lines, as the park was already on the empty side, and lots of other visitors have gone home. Not Stephen and Tony, though – they go in ride after ride, their hair and clothes soaking wet despite the umbrella and jackets.

‘’I want to go in the Cannonball again!’’ Tony complains as Stephen drags them to the gift shop again for shelter.

‘’Just hold on,’’ Stephen says, as he wrings out his coat. It wasn’t made for rainy days, and his shirt underneath is sopping as well. It’s vastly uncomfortable, but he’s having enough fun to ignore it. ‘’Is yours this wet, as well? Of all the days for it to rain.’’

‘’We should get on the water rides. It’s not like I can get any more wet.’’

Stephen raises his eyebrows. ‘’I think they’re flooded by now,’’ he says. Tony is still grinning, but he’s also shivering in his cold, wet clothes. ‘’Hey, you’re cold?’’

Tony shrugs. ‘’Well, I was only wearing a thin shirt and I think I won’t have to throw it in the washing machine anymore when we get back, just the dryer. I think even my underwear is soaking, Strange. Going to a theme park with this kind of weather is generally considered a bad idea, and I see why, now. Walking around all day in the rain is kind of a bum.’’

‘’Wait,’’ Stephen says, and roams around the gift shop. There are toys and key chains and water bottles, everything that can normally be found in a gift shop. There’s also sweaters and shirts, though, and they’re dry and comfortable. Stephen picks the least offensive sweater, a grey one with just a logo on it that looks warm and comfortable, and walks towards the counter. ‘’This one, please,’’ he tells the unimpressed cashier.

‘’Hey, you don’t have to do that for me,’’ Tony says, joining him. He’s wringing his hands though, and he’s clearly not able to control his trembling. ‘’At least let me pay for that. C’mon, it’s not like I don’t have the money for it.’’

‘’My date,’’ Stephen tells him strictly, though it’s certainly a shame that these gift shops are always so expensive. ‘’This was my idea, so it’s on me. That was the deal. You don’t want to lose the bet by cheating, do you?’’

Tony falls into a contemplative silence as Stephen pays for the sweater, though there’s something soft in his expression as Stephen hands him the dry clothing. ‘’I’m just going to change in the corner,’’ he says awkwardly, and moves behind a wall full of toys, trying to get as much privacy as possible. Stephen can see through the gaps, though, and doesn’t know why he watches Tony take off his shirt and coat. He looks away when Tony wrestles himself in the new sweater, waiting for him to come out again while he feels his own cheeks burning with something he can’t name.

‘’That better?’’ Stephen asks him when he reappears. Tony stuffs the wet shirt in the backpack Stephen brought. The sweater is exactly the right size, and it doesn’t look as stupid as he’d feared beforehand. Tony beams at him, though he pulls on his soaked jacket over the sweater again.

‘’Think we can manage another ride before we go?’’ he says toothily. ‘’Now I’m all comfortable again, I really do want a last ride in the Cannonball.’’ 

‘’I told you the fun part is important on a date,’’ Stephen tells him, and holds up the umbrella as they move into the rain again. It clatters loudly, and Tony presses against him to avoid getting wet. It’s the same way they’ve walked all day – it’s suddenly noticeable how close they are, and Stephen doesn’t meet his eyes, even as Tony’s wet coat moves against his own. ‘’Here, race you to the Cannonball.’’

‘’That’s unfair!’’ Tony shouts as Stephen starts running. ‘’You’ve got the umbrella! Stephen!’’

Stephen laughs. It’s only a two minute run to the Cannonball, but Tony’s panting when he catches up with him, colliding with him in his attempt to get back under the umbrella. His hair is plastered against his forehead and his cheeks are bright red from running. ‘’You have to train more,’’ Stephen tells him, but Tony just huffs at him and steals the umbrella, forcing Stephen to keep up with him now.

‘’You’re a menace with long legs,’’ Tony wheezes. ‘’Besides, I was just going to tell you that you were wrong, and you interrupted me. That’s you being rude twice. Don’t think that’s not going to cost you points, Strange, because it will.’’

‘’I’m sure,’’ Stephen humours him. ‘’When was I wrong?’’

‘’The fun part is important, maybe, but it’s not the _most_ important. The thing is, could this be interpreted as a friends thing by Bruce’s crush? You’ve got to work in some romance.’’

‘’Well,’’ Stephen starts slowly, ‘’I’m sure I can solve that easily. If it’s romantic gestures you want, I have them.’’ 

Feeling courageous, he slips his own hand into Tony’s as they walk up to the Cannonball. He squeezes softly, and it’s different from when they were holding hands to guide each other. This is purposefully holding hands just for the sake of it, and Stephen can feel Tony’s gaze burning on him. He ignores it as he caresses Tony’s palm with his thumb, right up until they get to the entrance.

‘’It’s a start,’’ Tony says, as they get into one of the carts. ‘’But is it enough?’’

‘’I don’t know,’’ Stephen answers, looking at Tony and tilting his head. ‘’Is it?’’

Tony opens his mouth, silent for a second. Just as Stephen thinks he wants to say something, the carts start moving, and they both grip the black bar in front of them tightly as they are launched forward.

It’s a short ride, but it’s one they both like. They go up and down. Somewhere during the ride, Tony grabs at Stephen instead of the bar, laughing as he is. Stephen laughs with him, just as they dive down and he hears a click. That’s right – he almost forgot that they make photos during the rides. He doesn’t think about it as they finish the attraction. Still laughing, they get out of the ride and gather the backpack and umbrella.

‘’I almost never go to amusement parks,’’ Tony says as they walk down again. ‘’They’re more fun than I remember. Alright, I’m ready to get back to the car. Just let me go to the toilet – there’s a stall, there. I’ll be back in a sec.’’

‘’I’ll be waiting for you,’’ Stephen says, and hands him the umbrella. Tony offers him a grateful smile before he’s running off to the bathroom stall; Stephen stares after him, smiling slightly. He doesn’t know what’s gotten into him – he just knows that he’s having the time of his life.

This may be the best date he’s ever been on, and it’s _fake_.

It’s probably just that he misses dating, he reflects. Tony is more fun now that they’re not arguing anymore, and he’s not unattractive. Stephen just needs to remember that this is all just for a bet, and find himself someone that’s actually into him after all of this. He and Tony can be friends from now on, and they’ll laugh about this silly bet later.

Right now, he’s just kind of melancholy that there’s not going to be a date, after this.

He wanders to the photo stand; he and Tony are there, in the middle of the ride. He stands by himself, watching it for a moment. It’s a nice photo, actually. Tony is laughing and clinging at Stephen, and he himself is laughing as well, looking down. They could actually be a couple on a date, judging from this picture.

He tilts his head. Yes, he likes the photo. He looks back to see if Tony’s coming already, and draws out his wallet when the coast is free.

~*~

‘’Finally, the car,’’ Tony says, breathing in relief as he shuts the door behind him. He drops the umbrella in the back. ‘’Time to dry up. Where did you want to eat, Strange?’’

‘’There was a restaurant nearby here,’’ Stephen says, scrolling down his phone. ‘’Let me look up the address. Hey, you’re not too wet, right? Your sweater’s not soaked.’’

Tony’s already pulled off his coat, and the grey sweater doesn’t look too bad. There’s a few wet spots on it, especially on his shoulders, but it’s managed to stay dry mostly. ‘’I think this is the most comfortable sweater I’ve ever worn,’’ he says in wonder, grinning at his sleeves. ‘’Hey, thanks, by the way. I’m serious.’’

‘’That’s fine,’’ Stephen says, as he finds the address and puts his phone away. ‘’At least you don’t have to wear fancy clothes to this restaurant. It’s ten minutes away.’’

‘’Let me pay for that one,’’ Tony insists. ‘’I never got to treat you your sea bass at Ostra, after all. It’s the least I could do.’’

‘’I know what you’re doing,’’ Stephen says, taking off his own coat and throwing it in the back as well. His shirt is dripping, but it’ll dry soon enough with the heating in his car. ‘’You’re not withdrawing points for my date because I didn’t buy you dinner. You’re not getting away with it.’’

‘’Can you forget about the bet for just a second?’’ Tony says, and he sounds frustrated. Stephen turns to him, and Tony runs a hand through his hair as he leans against the chair. ‘’I promise I won’t take points off, okay? I just – look, I know we’re doing this all just for the bet, but I enjoyed myself today, alright? You drove us here and paid for tickets and got us drinks and lunch and the umbrella and you got me this stupid sweater that’s far too comfortable and – okay, I just want to give you back something. You already proved your point, so can I just pay you for dinner? Just to make me feel better about my own sucky date?’’

‘’Your date didn’t suck,’’ Stephen says.

Tony laughs bitterly. ‘’Ty was in the date. I knew I’d already lost from that moment on, alright. It’s fine, you can win the bet, I just – you don’t have to pretend, alright?’’

‘’I did like it,’’ Stephen insists. ‘’Tony, I’ve been an ass to you for two whole years. One date, and you’ve shown me that I was wrong about you. You’re the one who told me to stop making assumptions, so stop assuming I thought your date sucked, and stop assuming I still hate you. I had fun, too. And I’m glad I took you here.’’

‘’You think I’m a man-whoring arrogant know-it-all that only got into MIT because of my dad,’’ Tony says.

‘’That’s what I thought, yeah,’’ Stephen says, because it makes no sense to even deny it. ‘’I still think you’re an arrogant know-it-all, but honestly, it would be hypocritical of me to dislike you for that. I’m definitely one, too. But I know you’re at MIT because you’re frighteningly clever – how could I not? I listened to you talk about AIs for almost thirty minutes straight. As for the man-whoring part – I think you’re lying.’’

‘’I’m lying?’’ Tony repeats faintly, a whiff of humour in his voice. Stephen nods.

‘’It’s easy to create a rumour about you,’’ Stephen says. He’s thought a lot about this the past week, after the first seeds of suspicion were planted in him. He thinks he’s on the right track, now. ‘’You have a reputation, so if someone says they’ve slept with you, who’s going to claim that they haven’t? You’re the one who told me to stop believing what people tell me about you – well, I did. What’s the harm in some people making up a lie, right? Except that it’s a downward spiral for you, because if everyone keeps saying they’ve slept with you while they haven’t, they just make you seem like more than a playboy than you actually are. I’ve asked around on campus, and most of the stories that people tell about you are just not credible, once you stop assuming they’re telling the truth. So no, I don’t think you’re sleeping around with everyone in your path.’’

Tony’s not looking at him, now. He’s just looking outside at the rain, his hands stuffed inside his pockets. ‘’It’s not all bad,’’ he says. ‘’I mean, the reputation’s there for a reason. I did sleep around, especially at first.’’

‘’Why don’t you debunk the rumours?’’ Stephen asks him gently, because that’s the only thing he couldn’t figure out.

Tony shrugs, a humourless grin playing around on his lips. ‘’Who’s going to believe me? Not even Rhodey believes me, sometimes. Look, Stephen, don’t feel too sorry for me. It’s just the way things work when everyone knows you. I don’t actually care, it’s just – it gets annoying. Do you know how often I get prepositioned a day? And I know it’s all people who don’t give a shit about me, personally. It’s all just people who want to get laid, or are curious what the fuss is about. And then I tell them that I don’t want to, and they get mad at me. Just because I’m famous and I have this reputation, they automatically think I owe them something. And that’s been going on for two years, and it’s frustrating.’’

‘’I never thought of it like that,’’ Stephen says. It’s hard to imagine to have such a reputation. ‘’For what it’s worth – I’m sorry for adding to your troubles. I haven’t exactly been great.’’

‘’Neither was I,’’ Tony says, flashing a soft grin towards him. ‘’Look, can we just go to dinner? I don’t want to ruin your date as well.’’

‘’You’re not ruining anything,’’ Stephen tells him, and the swell of fondness is unexpected. Tony’s still smiling, and there’s still some water dripping from his hair unto his face. Before he can wipe the drops from Tony’s face, he clenches his steering wheel. ‘’Alright, here we go.’’

‘’You’re not the only one who made assumptions, by the way,’’ Tony says suddenly, as Stephen starts driving away. ‘’I thought you were this stuck-up nerd that didn’t care about anyone but yourself for a long while. I liked riling you up.’’

‘’Well, your assumptions aren’t exactly wrong,’’ Stephen says dryly, taking his first turn. 

‘’They were,’’ Tony insists. ‘’You’re nothing like I thought you would be.’’

Stephen smiles to himself. He just wants to say something when his car starts sputtering and dies. He curses, quickly checking the road before putting his car on the side of the road. ‘’Damn it,’’ he mutters, checking all the lights.

‘’Your ignition switch is malfunctioning,’’ Tony says, peering. 

‘’How do I fix that?’’ Stephen asks.

Tony raises his eyebrows at him. ‘’You don’t know anything about cars, do you?’’ he asks in faint amusement.

It’s not exactly an area Stephen feels self-conscious about, but he crosses his arms anyway. ‘’I know how to drive, that should be enough,’’ he mutters. ‘’Wait, do you know what number to call for the roadside assistance?’’

‘’Better yet,’’ Tony says. ‘’I know how to fix this. Wait, switch around with me.’’

What follows is a few uncomfortable seconds where they try to switch places in a car that’s a bit too small for such a thing. Stephen goes underneath Tony, squishing himself into the passenger’s seat, and with a few attempts, Tony sits in front of the steering wheel. 

Tony goes to work diligently; Stephen can’t even follow what he’s doing, but his nimble fingers search for something and he mutters to himself. Ten minutes pass in relative silence, until Stephen starts shuffling. ‘’How do you fix it?’’ he asks.

‘’Give me a minute,’’ Tony mutters. ‘’It’s just not a simple matter of clicking a button. There may be a number of reasons your car died, and I need to figure out which one it is. It’s not your steering wheel binding, unfortunately. I don’t think your key’s worn, either.’’

‘’It’s an old car,’’ Stephen says in melancholy, patting his dashboard. 

It takes Tony twenty more minutes before he’s found the problem and managed to fix it. He turns the lock and the car starts rumbling again, and in response, Tony grins triumphantly. Stephen perks up at the sound. He’d never thought he’d love the loud noise that comes from his car, but it’s better than it not working at all.

‘’Thanks,’’ he says. ‘’Okay, wait, let’s switch. We should still be able to make it to the restaurant.’’

‘’Right, okay, just let me go under you,’’ Tony says, and wiggles. Unfortunately, they don’t coordinate their movements that well, and Stephen bumps into Tony. They both fall down, Stephen on top of Tony, their faces a little too close to be comfortable.

‘’Sorry,’’ Stephen says immediately, and hopes he isn’t blushing too hard. 

Tony’s eyes bore into him. ‘’This isn’t what I meant by letting me go under you,’’ he says dryly. ‘’I mean, it’s great date material. I could work with this. Not really what you were going for, I presume, but whatever. Okay, wait, just get up – yep, and now I can slide there, and you can – yes, perfect.’’

Stephen manages to get back into his own seat, grips the steering wheel, and starts driving.

~*~

Dinner is fun. It’s not as fancy a restaurant as Tony had taken him, but it’s not McDonalds, either. They have a few good choices for not too much money, and Stephen spends the entire evening laughing at Tony’s jokes and telling his own. They discuss their friends and the stories they have about them.

Tony insists on paying, and Stephen lets him, since it seems so important to him. It’s not that much money, or he would’ve felt worse about it. Not that Tony can’t afford it – still, it’s Stephen’s date, and he’s supposed to pay for this one. At Tony’s grateful smile, though, he can hardly let it bother him. He gets to keep his money, and he gets to see Tony smiling at him.

It may be a bit of a problem. Stephen’s thinking of this too much like a real date. And maybe he acts like it is a real date, too – but Tony says nothing about Stephen sliding too close of him, and he doesn’t seem to mind playing footsie under the table either. It’s just – this would be the part of a date where Stephen makes his move, and he’s not exactly sure that he _doesn’t_.

It’s just that he’s not sure if he’s doing it for a bet, or because he wants to.

~*~

It’s Stephen who lets Tony out of the car, this time. Tony rolls his eyes at him but lets him, knowing exactly what he did at the end of their earlier date.

Once again, he stops in front of the dorm. ‘’Hey, all jokes aside,’’ Tony says, and tilts his head. ‘’I did have a good time today. Thanks for that. I shall step aside and let you manage Bruce’s date.’’

‘’Well, Hope’s our jury, so you don’t know yet,’’ Stephen says. He feels something tighten in his chest. This is the end of their date – it’s now or never. ‘’This didn’t work out perfectly, either, with the rain and the car breaking down. It’s not great to let your date fix your car, is it?’’

Tony laughs, and his eyes twinkle. ‘’Yeah, maybe not. Thanks, anyway. Do you want the sweater?’’

It takes Stephen a moment to get what he means. ‘’Oh, no, it’s yours. I bought it for you, so keep it. So, I’ll see you around.’’

Tony smiles tightly. ‘’Yeah. I’ll see you around.’’

Stephen can’t stop himself. He surges forward, softly cupping Tony’s face as he kisses him. It lasts longer, this time; Tony melts into him, and he feels the hint of a tongue lapping at his lower lip. He presses against him. Their noses bump into each other, only softly, and he can feel Tony’s hand settle on his lower back.

He doesn’t know how long he stands there, kissing Tony in front of his dorm room. It’s a need for air that breaks them apart. Tony’s cheeks are tinged slightly red again, his eyes dazed, and Stephen likes this look on him. He likes that he managed this – the playboy of Boston, out of breath because of one simple kiss.

‘’That’s how you kiss someone after a first date,’’ he says, as he releases Tony from his grip. His hands are empty, now, but he shouldn’t go back in. After all, this is all just still a bet. None of it is real, and Stephen has something he can think back on, now. Even if Tony doesn’t want anything more, Stephen still has this.

‘’Right,’’ Tony says. ‘’I could’ve done that, last time. I just didn’t want you to sue me for sexual harassment.’’

Stephen grins. ‘’I’m sure you did. I’ll see you, Tony.’’

He turns back. He almost hopes that Tony will stop him, but nothing happens. When he looks back, Tony has already disappeared into his dorm.

Trying not to feel too disappointed, he steps into his car and drives back home.

~*~

‘’Good date?’’ Wong asks, casting one look at Stephen when he comes back.

Stephen rolls his eyes – it’s like Wong is a sorcerer, sometimes. It’s creepy how he knows all this stuff. 

‘’Very good, actually,’’ he says. ‘’If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower. I’m soaked.’’

‘’Better take a cold one!’’ Wong calls after him.

~*~

He finds Tony’s soaked shirt still in his backpack, the following day. It’s still wet, so he hangs it out with the rest of his laundry, deciding to take it back to Tony when it’s dried again.

Monday starts with Christine finding him before his classes start, knocking on his door when he’s only just rolled out of bed. Wong’s already gone, always the early riser, so Stephen finds himself opening the door with blurry eyes and a yawn.

‘’I heard from Hope that your date went very well,’’ she says, her eyes shining. ‘’Tell me everything.’’

‘’What?’’ he asks, as she barrels into his room. 

The thing with Christine is that Stephen didn’t date her for very long. They were friends before they both decided to study in Boston; it’d seemed like a good idea, at the time, to ask out the girl who seemed to share so many interests with him. Christine is smart and caring, and far more sociable than Stephen ever is, so he’d seen no objections. Besides, he’d been far too elated that the girl, as popular and good-looking as she was, wanted to go out with him.

Of course, after dating her for two months, it’d become pretty obvious that girls don’t really do it for him. She has never held it against him, and they kept on being good friends. Being friends with Christine also means her moaning about his lack of a love life.

And now it means her interest in his date, even if it’s only a fake one.

‘’Your date with Tony,’’ she says, sitting down on his bed. 

‘’Did you run all the way here to ask me that on a Monday morning?’’ Stephen complains. ‘’I’ve got a seminar in an hour, couldn’t you have texted me? You had the whole weekend to ask me this.’’

‘’Stephen, this is the first date you’ve been on since you got here,’’ Christine says. ‘’Hope told me you made out with him. Did anything else happen? Wait – that’s Tony’s shirt, isn’t it? I recognize it. My god, Stephen, you slept with him, didn’t you? Tell me you didn’t sleep with Tony Stark?’’

The clothes are still on his drying rack. Stephen groans and moves to fold his own shirts. ‘’It wasn’t a real date,’’ he says. ‘’Why does Hope talk to you about this anyway? Look, you were there, Tony and I had a bet. Why would you think something even happened?’’

She grabs the shirt to hold it up in his face. ‘’Because I know your wardrobe, and I know Tony’s, and this is his,’’ she points out. ‘’Also, you told me you didn’t hate him anymore after your first date. You said that he was _nice_.’’

‘’Just because he’s nice doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with him,’’ Stephen says, taking the shirt from her. ‘’For your information, I took him to an amusement park, and it rained all day, and he got a new shirt and put the wet one in my backpack. He forgot about it and I dried it here. That’s all there is to it.’’

‘’But you made out!’’ she says. ‘’Stephen –‘’

‘’Forget about it,’’ he snaps, and his shoulders sag as she looks hurt. He sighs, sitting down next to her. ‘’It was a bet, okay? A stupid deal. It didn’t mean anything. At least we won’t be arguing all the time, so that’s good. Can you just let this go?’’

Christine is silent for a while. ‘’Alright, if that’s what you want,’’ she says, and rises. ‘’I’ll see you at lunch. But just one thing, Stephen – if it really doesn’t mean anything, why are you so upset about this?’’

He can’t answer that, and even after she’s gone, he stares down at Tony’s shirt in his hands.

Alright, maybe he can answer that. The answer is just something he doesn’t want to contemplate. He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Tony ever since he came back from his date on Friday, despite the fact that he hasn’t even talked to him at all since. 

Despite himself, he grabs the photo he keeps in his drawer. It’s the photo he bought in Canobie Lake Park, after the ride. Tony laughing and clinging at Stephen; he himself smiling broadly, and he’s never seen himself this happy. He offers the photograph a melancholy smile and puts it back in his drawer. No one needs to see he has it, especially because he can’t quite wrap his mind around the reason he bought it in the first place.

Two dates. It’s taken him two dates to go from loathing Tony Stark to falling in love with him.

That wasn’t exactly the plan, and he wants to hide under his covers until these stupid feelings go away. It’s just because he hasn’t dated anyone in years, he tells himself. Just because Tony’s a good kisser, and it’s hard not to think about Tony’s hand on his back, pressing him closer. 

It doesn’t have anything to do with Tony’s quiet smile, or the way he leaned into Stephen under the umbrella. It’s not about Tony’s unexpected insecurity and problems, or the way he laughed when Stephen told him a funny story. It’s just hormones or something like that. Not his fault.

Why does he have to be this stupid?

~*~

They all meet in Hope’s dorm room, next time. The girl she shares it with is out, so they all fit there. Stephen got there early, because he didn’t have anything better to do anyway, and made sure he’s sitting beside her. He doesn’t want Tony to come too close.

James Rhodes isn’t there, but Pepper and Tony come from MIT, taking Scott with them. Tony just greets all of them, and smiles quickly at Stephen, but that’s it. There’s no reference to their dates, no acknowledgment of the fact they kissed, and Stephen didn’t realize he expected anything to happen until he feels disappointed when it doesn’t. 

Hope bringing out two forms in the middle of a lull in the conversation is the only remnant of their bet. Well, that, and the photo Stephen keeps in his drawer, but that one’s a secret.

‘’Bruce, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s Tony who will plan your date with your mystery man,’’ she says.

‘’Wait?’’ Stephen says, sitting up straight before he even realizes he’s spoken. ‘’Tony won?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ she says, showing the forms to him. ‘’Look, I realize dinner was a bust at the start, but you managed to go somewhere else to have dinner and it went fine. He laid on the romance really thick, and the last bit of the date went off without a hitch. You, on the other hand, didn’t check the weather forecast and let your date fix your car. Obviously, Tony won.’’

Tony raises his eyebrows at him. ‘’I’m insulted,’’ he says. ‘’You said my date was fine. Did you lie, Strange?’’

‘’Well, no,’’ Stephen says, and he feels stupid now. He’s acutely aware everyone is watching them, and he doesn’t know what to say.

Fortunately, Bruce comes in between. ‘’That’s fine, guys,’’ he says. ‘’I actually – well, I actually already asked him out. He said yes, and we’re going to have lunch on Saturday.’’

‘’You asked him out!’’ Pepper says in delight. 

‘’Can we now know who it is?’’ Hope demands.

Bruce goes on to tell them – it’s some foreign student named Thor, and Stephen vaguely recalls seeing the guy around somewhere – but he pays more attention to Tony. His dark eyes are focused right back on his, and they just stare at each other like that for a few moments. Tony offers him a small shrug in the end, giving him a minute nod before turning back to Bruce and joining in the congratulations.

Stephen has trouble concentrating the rest of the night.

~*~

The next day, he tries to convince himself to return Tony’s shirt. He keeps procrastinating, though, telling himself there’s more important things to do. Wong obviously seems to think there’s something wrong with him for keeping onto it for so long, though, sending him odd looks. It’s only in the evening that he gathers enough courage to take the shirt, drive to MIT, and knock on Tony’s door.

Tony peers at him when he opens the door. ‘’Strange,’’ he says. ‘’What’re you doing here?’’

Stephen holds up the shirt. ‘’I think this belongs to you,’’ he says dryly.

The door opens further. Tony takes the shirt and waves him in. ‘’You know, people are going to say things about us, if you hand back clothes in the middle of the dorm.’’

‘’I generally don’t care what people say,’’ Stephen tells him. He winces as he thinks back on an earlier conversation. ‘’Except that people will gossip about you again – if that’s –‘’

‘’Don’t worry,’’ Tony says, laughing a bit as he lays the shirt on his desk. ‘’I’m used to it. And you know, they’ve made up rumours about far worse people than yourself. I don’t see there’s anything wrong in fake-hooking up with a cute med student.’’

It’s not that Stephen doesn’t like compliments – especially not when they’re coming from Tony, who is more like a mystery to him than anyone else. Still, it’s not like Tony to be this unsubtle. Not towards Stephen, at least, and he frowns at the smouldering look that is sent his way.

‘’Are you drunk?’’ he asks. It’s already eleven, after all, though he wouldn’t think of Tony as the type to get drunk by himself in his dorm room.

Tony grins, waggling his eyebrows at him. ‘’Would that be so bad?’’

‘’What’s wrong?’’ he demands, taking Tony by his shoulders and sitting him on the bed. Tony scowls at him.

‘’Ty came by,’’ Tony says. ‘’Oh, that rhymes. Ty came by – what else rhymes with by? Sly. My – lie.’’

‘’Why did he come by?’’ Stephen says, making sure he keeps Tony seated. He can see the empty beers now, standing beside the bed. It’s at least seven, and there may be others hidden somewhere else. It’s a surprise he didn’t see Tony was hammered right away.

‘’Tried to fuck up my life once again,’’ Tony answers, folding into himself. ‘’I sent him away, though. I hate him. Hate him, Stephen, I do. He started all of this, you know – so many rumours, years ago. He was my first boyfriend, did you know? I thought I was nothing without him – what the hell. He just likes to feel more powerful than me. Well, he’s a shitty guy with a shitty personality and he’s not even that pretty. He’s not like you.’’

‘’As glad as I am to hear that I’m not as bad as all that,’’ Stephen says evenly, ‘’I think it’s time you went to bed.’’

‘’If you’re coming with me?’’ Tony says, and that flirting tone is back.

His heart skips a beat, but Stephen has to hold his ground. ‘’You’re drunk, Tony.’’

‘’But you want to, right?’’ Tony says, and suddenly he sounds so uncertain that it’s hard to listen to. ‘’You were – definitely giving off some signals. I got the vibes. Last date. You were – you’re into me. Don’t deny it, Strange, you want this. So why don’t you just do it?’’

‘’It was a bet, Tony,’’ he says. He’s not great at lying, but Tony is so drunk that he doubts he will notice. Stephen can’t tell him the truth – not now, not like this. Perhaps not ever. ‘’Those dates weren’t real. I had fun, but it all was just a game.’’

Tony is silent for a while, regarding him with dark, liquid eyes. Stephen wonders what he’s thinking, but it’s hard to say with drunk people. Might be about Stephen’s words, might be about something else entirely. It’s hard to deny a drunken Tony, one that’s leaning into him just a bit too much, but it’s necessary. ‘’You kissed me,’’ Tony accuses him, all of a sudden.

‘’I know. All part of the bet. Hey, why don’t you just go sleep this off?’’ Stephen suggests. ‘’Don’t go sleeping around with the first person you find just because your sleazy ex-boyfriend turned up, alright? You deserve more than that.’’

‘’Not sleeping around,’’ Tony mumbles, but he goes easily when Stephen helps him into his bed. He falls asleep within mere seconds, and Stephen watches him for a while. 

Tony knows, apparently, that Stephen is attracted to him. Well, that’s alright – attraction doesn’t necessarily mean anything. At least he hasn’t guessed that Stephen doesn’t want to be with Tony for just one night. He wants all of the things he had before, on the date – Tony’s undivided attention, his pearly laughter, the ability to hold his hand. 

Not that it wasn’t hard to say no, and to tell him it meant nothing. It was supposed to be nothing, he knows. He just hasn’t managed to inform his heart of that little fact.

Tony sleeps, and Stephen aches and returns home.

~*~

_Sorry about last night._

Stephen reads the text in his lecture, the morning after. After a few moments of hesitation, he starts typing out his own text.

_Don’t worry about it. Feeling better?_

He has to pay some attention to the lecture, so he doesn’t look on his phone until it’s finished. He has a few messages from a group chat that he’s in, and he’s probably ignored Wong’s texts for longer than socially acceptable, but he ignores them in favour of Tony’s reply.

_Apart from the blinding headache and the endless embarrassment? Sure._

He thinks about what to say for a while. Tony is obviously embarrassed about coming onto Stephen, and he doesn’t really know how to feel about that. He wonders what would’ve happened if he’d let Tony do what he wanted to – and feels guilty immediately. Tony was more drunk than Stephen has ever been in his life, and it would’ve been wrong to take advantage of that. Tony just wanted to forget about his ex, and Stephen was there. There’s nothing more to it.

_As a medical student, I’m allowed to tell you that Tylenol usually helps against headaches. I’ll try to invent a pill for embarrassment, but I’m afraid you may just have to learn to live with that. I’m sure you’ll manage._

He thinks for a moment, and decides to send another text.

_You know it’s fine, right? I understand._

There’s a tutorial following his lecture, and Stephen really wants to do well on this course because he likes it. He’s certainly paying enough money to be here, and it’s group work, so he’s forced to try and play nice with others. Christine is following the same tutorial, and he waves at her, but the rest of the time he has to explain the curriculum to his two group members, who obviously haven’t done any of the reading for the day.

He only gets the chance to fish out his phone a few hours later.

_Yeah. I promise I’m not always so forward when I’m drunk. Are you coming to Pepper’s, later? They wanted to play cards._

Stephen didn’t actually plan on coming, beforehand. He’s not good at many games, and he still has a bunch of work to do. He doesn’t want to end up like his idiot group members, after all.

One game can’t hurt, though. And he does want to see Tony again.

_Sure, he answers. I’ve got to grab dinner first, but I can be there around eight._

He thinks that’ll be the end of it, maybe, but it isn’t.

~*~

They settle into something different from before. There’s no more innuendos from Tony, and no more come-ons. They’re friends, though, and Stephen texts him a lot. It’s not as good as seeing him in person, but the fact is that they’re not on the same campus, and it’s inconvenient. The texts turn into visits, sometimes, though it’s mostly with other friends joining as well.

But he can be friends with Tony, now. He still gets the smiles, and there’s still jokes and laughter and friendly ribbing. There’s just no hand-holding, or kissing, or leaning against each other. And if Stephen misses that – well, he still has a photograph he can look at sometimes, and maybe that’s enough.

He’s too far gone on Tony, now. Every day, he finds something new that he likes. Whether it’s the small freckles on the bridge of his nose, or the way his gaze sharpens when he hears something interesting, or the furrowing of his brows when he’s having a hard time focusing. Stephen falls in love with all the small gestures, and maybe he watches Tony more than is healthy. It’s not as if he’s hurting anyone – their two dates are over, and he can be friends with Tony, now.

He even categorizes the way Tony responds to the stories of his supposed contests. Stephen learns to distinguish his tells – the quick flexing of his right hand when it’s definitely a rumour, and the way his eyes flit to the left for a moment when it’s someone that he definitely messed around with. Whenever someone brings up his bet with Stephen, though, Tony just sits up straighter and looks down, and he doesn’t know what to make of that.

The fact is that he can learn to be just friends with Tony. Maybe it won’t be that bad, one day.

One day.

~*~

‘’Strange!’’ Tony greets him when he sees him. Well, first they avoid literally bumping into each other. ‘’Fancy seeing you here. What brings you to MIT on this beautiful day?’’

‘’Bruce wanted to meet me for lunch, but he’s ditched me,’’ Stephen tells him. ‘’Do you know where he is?’’

Tony grins. ‘’Fooling around with Thor, last I heard,’’ he says in amusement. ‘’Don’t count on him coming. Well, coming _here_ , at least. If you’re still in the mood for lunch, I’ve got some time now. If you want, of course.’’

There’s something especially sincere about the grin, and Stephen feels himself softening. ‘’Definitely,’’ he says. 

‘’Great!’’ Tony beams. ‘’I know this fun place we can go. Everything’s better than the cafeteria here, let me tell you. C’mon, it’s on me.’’

‘’It’s not a date, Tony,’’ he teases, ‘’I can pay for my own lunch.’’

Something passes Tony’s face – a shadow of uncertainty and discontent, maybe, but it’s gone before he can name it. ‘’Of course it’s not,’’ Tony says airily. ‘’Let’s just go.’’

Stephen shrugs and follows.

~*~

It’s going remarkably well, for a few days. Stephen and Tony talk a lot; mostly over the phone, but sometimes they decide to get together without all of their friends. Stephen would almost think that he has a shot with Tony, but has to give himself a reality check right away.

There’s no reason for him to think Tony is even remotely interested in Stephen – all he has to go on is those two dates, and those were fake. Tony has acted like nothing but a friend to him since, except for that one time he found him drunk. Even that was a fluke, though, and for Stephen to mess up his newfound friendship with Tony Stark would be incredibly stupid.

He takes what he can get, and leaves it at that.

Gradually, it grows easier to laugh and joke around with Tony. There’s still the prevailing desire to kiss him and hold him, but it’s alright. Stephen is alright.

Even if Christine keeps looking at him in worry, and Wong asks him what happened to the guy he was dating – well, none of it matters.

~*~

Summer is around the corner, and that means that exams will arrive soon as well. This, in turn, means most students are throwing parties instead of studying.

Stephen usually doesn’t go to many, but he has his friends to drag him along once in a while. The party, this time, is in Pepper’s dorm house – and if Pepper’s dorm house is planning a party, it’s bound to be one of the best parties on campus. Pepper is not the only one who is efficiently ruthless and skilled at planning things, and when you have a dorm full of girls like that – well, it’s bound to be a fun party.

Stephen arrives with Christine and Hope. He sees Bruce almost immediately, but his friend is grinning at the huge blond student that is Thor, so he decides to leave him be. Hope finds Scott almost immediately, and Christine is immediately grabbed by Pepper and her friends to join them in some sort of truth-or-dare game that’s exclusively played by girls. It’s him all by himself, as he watches them disappear.

Not for long, though. He stands with his jacket in his hands a bit awkwardly, looking around for his friends, but everyone he knows is engaged otherwise. For the other part, he doesn’t know many of the MIT students – it’s all just a blur of unfamiliar faces. 

He hears a few people call out for Tony just before he sees the student in question. Tony grins, having him in sight already. ‘’Stephen!’’ he shouts out, but even then it’s almost impossible to hear him. The music is too loud to have a decent conversation.

Tony mouths something, but Stephen frowns at him, not sure he understand. Tony scowls but decides to change tactics – instead, he takes Stephen’s hand and drags him away, towards his friends. Or at least, Stephen assumes the people who are cheering when he comes back are his friends. Tony tries to explain something about them, presumably, but Stephen can hear nothing but garbled words coming from him.

It doesn’t matter. They’re playing some kind of game, and Tony has obviously introduced Stephen into it. It’s something with cards and dice and booze, and Stephen doesn’t know the rules at all. He understands enough to know that he has to drink when Tony’s friends start shouting at him after he’s shown his cards and rolled the dice, so he just goes with it. More often than not, people have to drink. Despite not understanding at all, he finds himself laughing and going along with it soon enough, and he has a hard time keeping count of how many drinks he’s had. People keep pressing beer into his hands, so he has a hard time caring.

He’s having fun despite not knowing any of these people, right up until the moment he sees Tony animatedly talking with another student. It’s a blond guy with just too much of a sleazy smile, and he only notices because Tony doesn’t seem to agree with him at all. 

The guy comes closer, though, despite Tony’s obvious hesistance, and kisses him.

Stephen freezes. Tony stands still for a while, half-heartedly to push the guy away, but slowly stops trying and just goes along with it. Everything in Stephen is crying out that this is wrong, that Tony doesn’t belong to this guy, especially if he doesn’t want to.

And maybe not even then.

Before he knows it, he’s broken apart from the game and finds Tony, who’s now excitedly kissing the blond student. Stephen pushes them apart, drunk and enraged and jealous, and sees the both of them stare at him indignantly.

‘’What the fuck, man?’’ the blond guy says. ‘’Wait for your turn!’’

Stephen pushes at him, but he’s not a fighter. The blond guy is equally drunk and unhappy about being broken up with his conquest for the night, and takes a swing. Stephen has drunk too much to avoid it, and the fist lands on his face. He stumbles back, leaning against the wall. He just wants to go in when Tony comes in between them, staring at both of them. ‘’Go away,’’ he tells the blond student.

‘’But he –‘’

‘’What did I say? Fuck off, man!’’

The blond guy storms off, and Tony crouches before Stephen. Weird. He didn’t even realize he’s sitting on the floor. ‘’Tony,’’ he just says, and lifts his finger up to Tony’s lips. He kissed those lips, once. He kind of wants to again.

‘’You idiot,’’ Tony tells him, and softly moves away Stephen’s brushing fingers. ‘’Why did you do that? Come on, let me get you up. Here you go.’’ Tony allows Stephen to lean against him – and he smells nice – and helps him towards a balcony, having Stephen hang against the railing. He closes the door behind them, and the music isn’t so loud anymore. The evening air is crisp and Stephen takes a deep breath, feeling the alcohol rush in his veins.

‘’Shit,’’ he says, realizing what he’s done.

‘’There you go,’’ Tony says, leaning against the balcony next to him. ‘’Why’d you hit him, Stephen?’’

‘’You didn’t want him to kiss you,’’ Stephen tells him. ‘’I saw – you didn’t want him to. So why’d you let him, is the better question?’’

‘’It’s really not the better question,’’ Tony says with a deprecating smile. ‘’I didn’t _not_ want it, alright, it just was a poor timing – what am I even defending myself for? Stephen, I really need you to butt out, because it’s not your business, alright? Fuck, I don’t understand you at all.’’

‘’What?’’ Stephen asks, and frowns.

Tony sighs, and he’s not looking at him anymore. He looks beautiful – he’s wearing a rich blue sweater that fits him perfectly, and his hair is mussed up in a way that makes Stephen wants to run his hands through the soft curls.

‘’You’re a mystery,’’ Tony tells him. ‘’You’re like – do you even know that you’re doing it? What’s your problem, Stephen? We go on those two dates, and it’s fun and all, and maybe I think that, okay, there’s something a bit more going on here, right? Because we started out on a bet, but then I think, well, I’m definitely getting some signals. You don’t kiss a guy like that just because of a bet. So there I am, waiting for you to come around and tell me that hey, yes, that’s fun, let’s do it again. And you never do.’’

‘’Wait,’’ Stephen says, because none of this makes sense at all. ‘’Are you –‘’

‘’Let me finish,’’ Tony says sharply. ‘’So I don’t hear from you for days, and that’s cool, maybe it’s just me. Then you come around with that stupid shirt, and I’m a mess, alright, I know I’m a mess, and at that particular point in time I was even more of a mess. So there I am, drunk and willing, and I think, well, if you’re not going to ask for more, then I will. You turn me down. Fair play, alright, if you don’t want to, you don’t want to. But then you’re so fucking understanding, and you’re so kind that it’s almost unfair, and you keep smiling at me and we become friends, and I thought that would be fine, you know? And I can’t stop talking to you because you always know what to say, and I don’t _want_ to stop, and somewhere along the way we’re not dating but I’m kind of trying to take you on dates anyway and you plain out refuse to call it a date, but then you go along anyway. What kind of message is that? What the hell do you want me to do that with that, Stephen?’’

His eyes are dark and pleading, so Stephen decides to take the plunge and kiss him. It’ll be alright, he thinks – he misunderstood so completely before, it has to be fine now. Tony didn’t want the dates to end, and Stephen didn’t either, and maybe this will solve everything –

Tony pushes him away instead. ‘’What?’’ Stephen says, at Tony’s enraged look.

‘’What the fuck, Strange?’’ Tony spats out. ‘’I’m not just – I don’t want you to kiss me just because you’re drunk, or horny, or whatever the hell you are. I want – fuck, I don’t even know what I want, but –‘’

‘’Let me take you out on a date,’’ Stephen blurts out, and sees Tony still.

‘’What?’’ Tony now says.

‘’I thought you only saw the dates as part of the bet,’’ Stephen says, though he now realizes that he’s the only one who ever made that kind of statement. He’s so damn stupid. ‘’I never realized you wanted anything else. I thought that was just me. Please don’t go back to hating me.’’

Tony looks at him for a few long moments, and Stephen only feels more insecure. He leans against Stephen, then, and maybe that’s alright. Stephen can feel his own heart hammering in his chest, but all of that doesn’t matter when Tony leans up and starts kissing him, all tantalizing soft lips and with a brush of his tongue.

They’re both a little drunk, and they’re both a little too eager, and the kiss maybe isn’t the best ever. It doesn’t matter – all Stephen can feel is Tony’s warm body pressed against his own, and he gets to hold him and kiss him, and maybe they’re a little desperate. They’ve denied themselves this for weeks, and Stephen has never wanted anything else more in his life.

‘’If you get to take me on a date, then I get one as well,’’ Tony tells him. ‘’How have I only kissed you three times so far?’’

‘’We can up that count,’’ Stephen tells him. ‘’Just – don’t go around kissing any other people. I’m not that good of a fighter. As it turns out, I have a hard time not punching other people when it comes to you.’’

Tony huffs out a quiet laugh, and gently traces Stephen’s cheekbone with his thumb. ‘’That’s going to bruise,’’ he murmurs. ‘’Sure. I won’t kiss anyone else, but just to spare you your pretty face. After all, I have to look at it.’’

When they finally leave the balcony, they’ve definitely kissed more than three times.

~*~

The texting and the lunches don’t stop. If anything, it all increases.

Stephen puts the photo of their second date in a frame. The first time Tony sees it, he laughs for ten minutes straight and then pulls Stephen onto his bed.

~*~

The third and four date go exceptionally well. They meet no exes, no cars break down, and the weather does what it’s supposed to do.

Stephen secretly maintains he wins this round, though. He’s getting pretty good at this dating thing.

~*~

Exams come around. He doesn’t see a lot of Tony, during this period, but Tony has left sticky notes with little drawings and wishes of good luck all over his dorm room. Wong finds them sometimes and laments the days that Stephen was a lovesick puppy.

Stephen wishes Tony good luck in other ways.

~*~

The fifth and sixth date include angry Italian shouting, a small puppy that chases Tony around, a dead cactus, and a water bottle with something in it that turns out not to be water. All through it, Stephen holds Tony’s hand – though he loses it for a while there when Tony is running from the puppy – and kisses him in the appropriate places. And sometimes the a bit less appropriate ones.

After the seventh date, he just stops counting.

~*~

The summer doesn’t break them up. Stephen comes to Tony’s house and meets his family, though Tony’s father seems to care very little about any of that. His mother is kind, though, and there’s a butler called Jarvis that Tony cares about a lot. He sees his workshop and his room and gets to see what Tony’s childhood was like, so he doesn’t mind.

If his father’s contempt causes Tony to be a little more silent sometimes, Stephen doesn’t say anything and just holds him tighter.

They also go to Stephen’s family for a short amount of time. Stephen’s parents welcome Tony in with all the enthusiasm he can expect from them, which is unfortunately not that much. Still, they are positive about him.

Maybe Tony holds him a little tighter, too, at the end of their stay there.

Point is, most of their time is spent in Boston, with their friends. Stephen and Tony take each other on dates, and bicker, and laugh, and kiss. Stephen often finds himself looking at his photo – one amongst many others, now, but still his favourite – and wonders how he didn’t know at that moment that this was it. How he could ever have been this blind. 

Then again, he sometimes looks at Tony and wonders how he got this lucky.

~*~

The new semester starts.

‘’Did you hear about Tony Stark?’’ he hears someone whisper in the hallway. Slowly, he stops to listen in.

‘’Yeah. Doesn’t he have a boyfriend now, or something? Never would’ve thought.’’

He smiles to himself, and walks on.

~*~

Stephen is sitting against the bed that Tony’s lying on. They’re both reading something for their courses, but he has a hard time ignoring the fact that Tony is just inches away. 

‘’Tony?’’

Tony hums at him and flips a page. ‘’Yeah?’’

‘’I heard Christine likes someone, but she refuses to ask him out. Want to see which one of us is the better dater to see who can help her out?’’

Tony closes his book and grins down at him. He’s wearing the sweater Stephen got him in Canobie Lake Park. It’s a little chafed in some places now, but apparently still as comfortable as ever. ‘’Are you sure you want to take that bet? You know who’s going to win, right?’’

‘’I’m willing to take my chances,’’ Stephen says, and leans up so he can kiss Tony. Tony lets out a satisfied sigh and rolls over to give him better access, his hands finding their way into Stephen’s hair to keep him close. Stephen smiles into the kiss, and thinks that yes, he definitely is willing to take a chance.

After all, there may have been some complications, but everything worked out pretty well the first time around.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know anything about American theme parks. Or cars. Or the way American universities work. I researched as much as I could though so let's hope there aren't any huge mistakes in here :)
> 
> If you like my writing, I'm currently also updating an ironstrange fic that will be ~175k. The writing is already done, so it's two updates a week for a fic that will definitely be finished. It's called [Citizen Erased](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17767442/chapters/41923112), and it's my baby.
> 
> Kudos and comments make me the happiest person on Earth :)


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